General Cold War History

Cold War, the struggle for power and influence in the years after World War II between the Communist nations led by the Soviet Union (the East) and the Western allies headed by the United States (the West). Cold War tensions began to moderate in the 1960's, and a "thaw" was said to be setting in. In the 1970's, the phrase "Cold War" (coined by Bernard Baruch in 1947) generally fell into disuse, but the East-West rivalry continued, as did the conditions that caused it. The Cold War ended with the collapse of the eastern European Communist regimes in the late 1980's and the breakup of the Soviet Union into 15 independent countries in 1991.

The origins of the Cold War and the motives of its antagonists are the subject of much controversy among historians. There are three principal interpretations:

Cold War, the struggle for power and influence in the years after World War II between the Communist nations led by the Soviet Union (the East) and the Western allies headed by the United States (the West).

V-J Day meant the end of World War II, but not the end of global tensions. The main area of conflict was between the United States and Russia which led to a tense nuclear arms buildup. Read about how the end of World War II gave rise to the Cold War.